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April 1, 2011

In Vivo RNAi Screening Identifies New Regulators Of Liver Regeneration

by Sam Savage

Innovation in science

This study establishes a unique system to perform in vivo RNAi screens for genetically dissecting the cellular signalling networks that regulate hepatocyte proliferation during chronic liver damage.

Functional in vivo validation studies show that stable knockdown of the candidate gene by different shRNAs can significantly increase the repopulation efficiency of mouse hepatocytes and also increase the regenerative capacity of chronically damaged mouse livers.

Such detailed understanding of the signalling pathways involved in hepatocyte proliferation control holds the promise of new therapies to increase the hepatic regenerative potential for future new strategies in HCC treatment.